personally if opened a karn right now id sell it in a heartbeat. you said it yourself that you would hardly play it, but only you can be the judge of the value of adding a single card to one (or maybe more) of your commander decks.

the card is 100% going to go down at some point, so then the question becomes whether karns price is near its peak. for instance what if the stars align and karn appears in the top 8 of the next few SCG modern events AND sees heavy play at the pro-tour (even more than recent standard events are showing).

whatever you think that price point would be is probably close to the theoretical max the card could ever reach. then ask yourself how likely it is for those circumstances to line up. the smaller that chance the closer the card is to its peak.

Spot on. Being a new standard toy that's found it's way into a number of decks within the format is the only reason why new Karn's value is even remotely close to KL. That's not to say new Karn won't see play in other formats once it rotates, but it certainly wouldn't be a $60 if there was no demand from Standard players. I'd sell any copy I cracked as quick as I could sleeve it.

Has anyone tested the "Noble Moon" version of this deck to success recently? I'm starting to hit the point where the BBE hits feel bad more times than not...either BBE or the Arbor Elf/Sprawl needs to go. I've also noticed that BBE > Bloodmoon is a bit of a nombo with the fetches/courser/tracker synergy...kinda hard to shuffle those >3 cmc cards back into the pool, or manipulate your topdeck with a moon over your fetches. This also makes your Tracker draws suboptimal as well.

I'm thinking of either a more controlling/grindy/ramp-up version without BBE that has Huntmasters over BBE, Walking Ballistas, Acid-moss over Molten Rain, and Bonfires/Trinispheres maindeck somewhere...Probably with Dragonlord Atarka as a topend.

Or, going the Noble Moon route, with more of a lower curve, notably incorporating two drops like scooze and goyf, as well as hasty 3 drops to optimize BBE hits.

If you go back X pages to when BBE was first unbanned, there was some Noble Moon discussion. That's the route I went within the first 1-2 weeks of the unbanning for the same reasons you mention: lowering the curve to maximize BBE seemed like the most efficient option and 8 of our 60 MB cards are essentially land mines just waiting to be cascaded into (Arbor + Sprawl). It never gained much traction in this thread, because of the reluctance to shell out for Goyfs/Nobles. Whenever I decide to play Ponza, it's still the variant that I roll out and if you have the Goyfs/Nobles already then I'd recommend giving it a shot. Having the option to splash white unlocks a ton of SB options and cascading into something like Birds, which would otherwise be sub-par, isn't nearly as bad when you have exalted triggers/Kessig wR.

What happened to Donate?
Spiked from $4 to $18 this week
Is the Donate/Illusion of Grandeur combo going popular again?!

Doubtful. Some ***** heads are buying out nearly every single card on the RL in addition to random non-RL cards from Arabian, Stronghold, Tempest, etc that don't even see play. The last couple weeks have been a *****storm of market manipulation.

Welp foil damping shere is now $17. Think I’m going to bite the bullet and get my 2. Card hasn’t proven to be too good but if it were to show as an all-star I’d rather be early than late.

IMO, it's still rather early to bite on foils. The prices of non-Dominaria foils are just beginning to deflate, so foils shouldn't be far behind as more enter the market. I'd also consider the fact that pack foils of Fatal Push are currently going for the same price. Helps put it in perspective, and like Push, Sphere seems ripe for an FNM promo.

In all seriousness, it doesn't look too bad with the exception of Fulminator Mage, which is worse than Molten Rain as it can't hit basics. However, then it's less Jund and more just splashing black for K-Command, which isn't necessarily bad. If I were to splash a color, however, I'd go with white for the side board options.

well lets just hope that demand doesnt shift towards the RtR shocks to a degree that they go up too much. going for steam vents specifically though is kinda odd.

also i keep seeing people referencing a new upcoming ravnica set. is this just speculation based on vorthos or what?

From a business prospective though going to historically the greatest plane in Dominaria and the new main plane in Ravnica makes a certain degree of sense for 25 Years of Magic. But again I am not convinced the Gatewatch is ready for Bolas immediately.

That's how I'm looking at it. A "Re-return to Ravnica" seems almost inevitable from a business standpoint; IMO it's more a matter of when than a matter of if.

So i'm looking at the RL duals, especially for blue, they are crazy high...especially Underground Sea and Volcanic Island. Will prices ever drop or should I just accept they will just keep increasing forever?

Just gotta accept it and pick up whatever you need before they climb even higher.

soooooo is there gonna be some kind of big summer product coming out this year? another masters set? something for commander?

All has been quiet on the Masters front. Core sets are making their return this Summer. New commander product will drop sometime in the Fall. I remember hearing about some sort of new product that's essentially a successor to Conspiracy, but that's about all I know about it.

Personally though I want them to drop this "prime time masters series products" its devaluing everything after its first two seasons and its later releases (2016/2017 masters) are a far cry from the quality we saw in original 2013 masters sets. 2015 masters we could feel it slipping, should of been the end for a while but it wasn't. it was followed by quick low quality successors.

I absolutely agree, however, I think the format has grown to the point where some sort of Modern-oriented products are needed in order to regulate the format's cost barriers and keep players happy. WotC and certain players make it seem like a problem without a solution, but like you said, WotC nailed it the first time around with MM13. The bastardization of Masters sets began when WotC/Hasbro realized they could slap the "premium" Masters label on any old box of garbage and charge more money for less quality. Other folks are quick to claim that IMA is where the Masters line went off the rails, but you're correct in saying that MM15 was a far cry from its predecessor. MM15 was ***** at the time, but has aged well due to cards like Karn, Opal, Hierarch, Bob, etc not having seen another reprint since. However, IMO MM17 was the best Masters set of the bunch from a pure content standpoint; if we're taking both quality and affordability into consideration, MM13 is the clear cut winner.

IMO, so long as Modern continues to grow and thrive as a format, there needs to be some sort of product that introduces reprints of staples into circulation. And since we sure as ***** won't be getting those cards in Standard block sets, WotC needs to figure out how to make that happen without tanking the secondary market in the process. I'd be a fan of something along the lines of biannual Modern "specialty" sets that contain a lesser amount of reprints, but have an MSRP that resembles that of MM13. In theory, this would allow WotC to inject needed reprints into circulation, without completely tanking the market. Ever since the Masters line was introduced, its been commonplace to see the prices of those staples which weren't reprinted spike in response. If there were two of these "mini Masters" sets released every year (say one in Q1 and another in Q4), those cards not included in the first set would theoretically spike to a lesser degree since they could show up in the next set just a few months later. This may not be the ideal solution, but WotC needs to find some sort of middle ground, because the writing is on the wall should they go through with their plans for themed sets.

soooooo is there gonna be some kind of big summer product coming out this year? another masters set? something for commander?

All has been quiet on the Masters front. Core sets are making their return this Summer. New commander product will drop sometime in the Fall. I remember hearing about some sort of new product that's essentially a successor to Conspiracy, but that's about all I know about it.

WotC does print too much modern-day product. That's why there's currently two underpaid interns, on the outskirts of Seattle, digging shallow graves and filling them up with boxes of 'Hour of Devastation'...allegedly. They're still going to print the **** out this set, so don't you worry. Considering this is the first set with the improved card stock, they're most likely still working out kinks with the printers. I recall watching Rudy open a box where his rares kept appearing upside down, so I wouldn't be surprised if there's a handful of minor issues they're fixing before another large run. I don't buy standard product anymore, but I picked up a pre-release kit after hearing about the new card stock. I didn't pull *****, but was definitely pleased with the changes they made. They actually resemble real cards again rather than flimsy stickers; I'll reserve my final verdict for a few weeks/months in order to see if they curl over time.

This isn't a platform for your victim complex. The article was fine until the phrase "The elephant in the room is women and minorities playing Magic in unwelcoming areas" where your article turns into the great plight facing women in gaming. Three of my good magic friends are homosexual we play magic at three different venues regularly. There are several female regulars we see and play with as well and if someone says something degrading to them they wouldn't hesitate to call them out on it, they don't expect a white knight to save them. The thing is "That Guy" is already reguarded as an a-hole wherever he is. Stereotypes exist thats the cold hard truth it's your job to change that perspective. This article shouldn't be about what I have to do as a player if I see BS I'm calling BS on someone acting like an a-hole. It shouldn't be about what a judge should do or what a store owner should do they already understand what needs to be done. It should be about helping women change that stigma of "just being there for their boyfriend" and "not understanding how to play". My wife plays magic with me as well the only time anyone said anything to her was two years ago when she boomerranged a guys first and second attempt at putting a land into play at fnm. Who just ended up rage quitting and leaving the store after she called him out. So yes magic has a number of "That Guys" who are the internet trolls of real life and the number one rule is don't feed the trolls.

Tldr: Defend yourself from the beta's at the magic shop.

Bravo, my friend. This starting off fairly interesting until it turned into a soap box for political correctness. "That" guy certainly exists, but it's not a given that all ********s are racist/sexist/transphobic/other labels that you're trying to push. Stereotypes exist and they're not going away. I'm a man who's dating a transgender woman, but I don't get butthurt when we play with our group of friends and they crack an off-color joke every now and then. It's called humor and it's a two-way street; she gets in on the banter and gives it right back. I completely understand that when you're playing at an FNM or casual event with new players, these kinds of comments and jokes are uncalled for and simply make you an ********. However, in the comfort of your own playgroup, with people you know, what's the problem? Because chances are that if a player can't take a mild joke then they're not somebody I'd want in my playgroup. Everybody has their own insecurities and joking about them with others is a great way to find acceptance. You want to write a piece about social problems affecting LGSs? Investigate the poor hygiene that's exhibited by, unfortunately, a large number of players; I find that to be a much more influential factor affecting the experiences of new players...unless of course it's rude to stereotype people who suffer from alblutophobia?